For Tonight
by Charlotte Donahue
Summary: For tonight, she is seventeen, living with laughter and love.For tonight, she chooses to forget the world, and all that is happening. For tonight, she will live.


**For Tonight**

It is June.

The air is warm and the stars are bright.

There is laughter in the air.

The smell of firewhiskey is there as well, lingering in the aroma of happiness.

She is sitting by the lake, watching him splash around in the water. He looks carefree and happy. She wishes she could forget the world like that. Let everything go, live for the moment.

He looks up from his watery place and sees her sitting on the grassy bank, gazing at him. There is something unidentifiable in her eyes, like she is reaching for something but can't quite grasp it. He wants to tear that look from her eyes, throw it to the wind to wisp away.

He gestures to her.

_Come. Come and swim_.

She smiles, shaking her head. She doesn't want to get wet. Not in her clothes. They'll pull her down, making her sink. She'll feel heavy, dirty.

_No. _

He swims closer to the bank, determined to have his way.

_Please. You'll like it. The water feels so refreshing. _

She shakes her head again.

_No. _

Sighing, he pulls himself onto the grass, dripping wet and shaking the water from his black hair. He sits next to her, not shivering in the summer temperature.

_What's wrong?_

She is quiet, contemplating how to answer that question. There are so many things wrong. The world is at war. Her heart is torn in two. Her sister hates her. Her parents are dead. They're leaving her favourite place in the world. What to say?

_How do you do it? _She asks suddenly, turning to face him.

He can see her eyes glinting at him in the starlight. She is asking him in earnest. He is puzzled.

_Do what? _

She motions to the lake, the fire, the drinks.

_Act so carefree. Forget it all. Forget the world. _

He is silent. He doesn't know how to answer the question. He realizes she is right. He could be, and should be, worried about the future, and what it holds. There is a war happening. Wizards are dropping left and right, good and bad. But he doesn't want to be worried. He's seventeen, too young to die.

_I let it go. _

She is frustrated. That is not the answer she was looking for.

_But how? _

He lies back on the grass, gazing up at the constellation of his best friend.

He begins softly.

_I can't totally block out the horror. I can't totally forget the pain. I just set my heart on what I want, what I need, and simply whisper it to the trees and let them carry it away. I wish to forget. I want to live. I want to enjoy my life. I want to live my life to the fullest. So I simply live for the moment. And in the water there, I can feel worries slipping off of me like a second skin. They are washed away. I am cleansed. _

She listens, fiddling with a blade of grass. She understands, in a way.

_But we're seventeen. We are too young to die. Why should we live for the moment now? Why should we forget all we know and simply let go? _

He places his hands under his head, fully relaxed.

_Yes, I agree. We are too young to die._

_How ever, it does not mean it will not happen. If not today, why not tomorrow? What is stopping us from dying? Even if we are too young to die, it may happen sooner than we wish. Therefore, we need…we _need_ to let go, or else we won't get our shooting star. We will not get our chance to live. _

He turns on his side, propping his head up on his hand and with his free hand he reaches for hers. Grasping it, he holds it tightly.

_Lily, please. For tonight, forget it all. For tonight, swim, laugh, drink, smile. For tonight, please live for the moment. When the times get worse, for they will, we need to be able to look back and have these moments to cling to. _

She gives him a slight smile, twining their fingers together. Then she gets to her feet, pulling him up with her.

_Come swim with me_.

She peels off her skirt and blouse, leaving her in her knickers and bra.

_It's like a swimsuit_, she tells him.

He grins. Then with a flying leap, he pulls her into the water with him.

They emerge, spluttering with laughter. As he spins her around, she grasps his neck and thinks about what he said.

For tonight, she is Lily Evans.

For tonight, she is graduating.

For tonight, she is seventeen, living with laughter and love.

For tonight, she chooses to forget the world, and all that is happening.

For tonight, she will live.

&&

**Thank you for reading 'For Tonight'.**

**Please read and review.**

**Cheers**

**Charlotte Donahue**

**January 1, 2007**


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